One of the beauties of public art is that it both tells us who we are and reminds us of who we were. Backtrack a century, and we were irate about a bust of the great poet Dante Alighieri, ordered in tribute by a largely immigrant Italian American population.

Retreat to Thursday on Belle Isle, and people were jubilant over the refurbishing of a better bust, a finished project unveiled with a mayoral proclamation and an authentic Italian Carabinieri officer in a majestic plumed hat.